Boy hurt in I-70 wreck

A 7-year-old Blue Springs boy was hospitalized Thursday afternoon with minor injuries suffered in an a traffic accident involving a car driven by his mother, a tractor-trailer and a third vehicle.

According to the Missouri State Highway patrol, the wreck, close to 12:30 p.m., stalled westbound traffic on Interstate 70 just west of Oak Grove for about two hours.

The Highway Patrol’s report states the tractor trailer, a 2007 Kenworth, collided with a 2002 Chrysler Town and Country mini-van driven by Maria C. Stiles, 59, of Blue Springs, and a 1998 Dodge Caravan driven by Julie R. Pritchard, 49, of Oak Grove. Stiles’ 7-year-old son, Colton, was taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital for minor injuries.

According to the report, the accident occurred after Stiles and Pritchard slowed for traffic ahead of them on I-70 and the driver of the tractor trailer, Michael W. Laney, 53, of Iron Station, N.C., was unable to stop in time and steered onto the right shoulder. Stiles, seeing that Laney was unable to stop, tried to avoid the rig by pulling onto the right shoulder, where she was hit in the rear right side of the vehicle, forcing her back onto I-70 and into the rear of Pritchard, spinning Pritchard onto the right shoulder as well. The impact of the crash forced the tractor trailer off the right side of the roadway and up onto an embankment before coming to rest. Due to the incline, the rig rolled over and came to rest on the top of Pritchard’s caravan.

No summons were issued and the Highway Patrol continues to investigate the accident. They were assisted on the scene by officers from the Oak Grove Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff’s Department and an emergency response team from the Missouri Department of Transportation.